Rose Tyler, I Love You
by Aiedail0Rainfur
Summary: Set immediately after Journey's End. Rose Tyler does not have the happily ever after she dreamed of; the metacrisis Doctor runs off on a mission to save a planet with Ten and she is left alone in Wales. Then, a mysterious stranger with a blue police box arrives, and Rose falls in love again. But she knows she will have to choose. *Rated T just in case.* EightXRose and 10.2XRose
1. Chapter 1

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is my first fanfic, so please be nice. XD My updates might be a bit sporadic, I've got quite a bit going on, including writing music for my Trock band 'Next Stop: Everywhere' Please R&R!  
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**Per usual, I do not own any of the BBC's characters or Doctor Who in general (unfortunately).**

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The waves washed into Bad Wolf Bay, crashing in swirls of aqumarine and foam. The sun rose, reflecting off the water, creating a shifting surface of gold.

Rose sat on the wet sand, staring out at the water. _Over. Done. The end. Finite. _The words meant little to the traveller from Gallifrey, but seemed to encompass her human limits. Their shared limits, she reminded herself as the human Doctor- her Doctor- sank down next to her, hand conveniently placed only inches from hers. Time crept by. Suddenly, a noise pierced the gentle sloshing of the ocean. _Vwooorp. Vwooorp._

Rose was on her feet in seconds, racing toward the source of the noise. _Unfinished? Were there still empty pages left in this chapter?_ The blue box towered over the flat expanse of the beach. Out of place and yet somehow... right. The door seemed to open in slow motion, revealing the face lit by the stars it'd seen. Rose stopped suddenly; emotions tumultuous and contradicting. She hesitantly reached toward his cheek, praying it was real. He frowned slightly, "Rose, I-" He was cut off as Rose threw her arms around his neck.

The metacrisis Doctor approached them, his expression unreadable as he watched Rose.

When Rose finally released him, Ten couldn't meet her eyes. "I have to go, Rose. I need him to come with me," Then said, with a nod to the metacrisis Doctor.

Rose's eyes narrowed, and her voice dropped to a dangerous level, "That's the way it always is with you, isn't it? You string along the people who care about you, until you decide they're too human. Well, you can tell me you don't _really_ want to go all you want, Doctor. But I know the truth, I always have." Ten backed up involuntarily, eyes wide, mouth taut. He couldn't form words. Rose, apathetic to the Doctor's pain, stalked away toward the waterline.

Ten stood still, remembering other companions who and grown further and further away, until they disappeared. He couldn't bring himself to remember the others. Especially the plight of his granddaughter, whose face had faded from his memory. The metacrisis seemed to sense his nostalgia. "Why, exactly, do you need me?"

Ten blinked, silently steering himself back to the present. "The daleks are overwhelming a pioneer planet crucial to history. I recovered an old subatomic particle transporter-it should send them halfway across the galaxy. There is a however, a slight problem: it requires DNA from two time lords as confimation."

"But... I'm you," the metacrisis replied in confusion.

"Oh, yes, but not completely," the Tenth Doctor said with a hint of excitement.

The metacrisis considered the probabilities carefully. This would likely be the only adventure in time he'd ever make, possessing no means of space/time travel.

He didn't even have to answer, the Doctor had already programmed the coordinates into the TARDIS computer. He looked toward the waterline. Rose had gone. "It's a time machine, idiot," he muttered to himself. Waves crashed and the TARDIS groaned, entering the swirling vortex of time.

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Fire covered the control room, eating away at the towers of novels stacked around an armchair. The Eighth Doctor raced back and forth, trying desperately to keep his old ship in flight. Alarms broke through the chaos-warnings for an emergency landing. The TARDIS groaned and creaked as it tore itself out of the time vortex. Smoke billowed from the broken windows. The door, every intact, opened easily. The Doctor stumbled out into a nondescript alley. It was pitch black, even the moon was hidden by clouds. "Seems I've created a small power outage," the Doctor said to himself absentmindedly as he attempted to inspect the TARDIS. The door was sealed shut. "Oh, old girl. Oh my dear I am so sorry. Even you can't fix such extensive damage." He sighed.

The glare of headlights suddenly shone through the dark. The car screeched to a halt at the end of the alley. Four figures dressed in all black exited and cautiously approached the alien and his box. Eight observed them with feigned nonchalance. He approached slowly, hands resting against his sides.

An African American man of average height and build stepped forward, "This is Earth, July 5, 2008; and we are Torchwood."


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: I'm sorry for making you wait this long! Time has just gotten away from me these past weeks. I am working on the third chapter, it's just not up yet. ;) As usual, Doctor Who is not mine, neither are any character names I borrow from other fandoms.**

Chapter 2

Rose walked purposefully toward Torchwood headquarters. The institution had grown since the cyberman invasion, with location in every major city in the world, the London branch being the control center. Occupying three blocks in the government district, the campus included two skyscrapers and an expansive underground research lab. Their work on several covert projects of national importance had even earned them the renewed support of Parliament.

Rose scanned her access card and keyed in the day's passcode. The light above it turned green as the door unlocked. She barely noticed when the secretary, Elaine Hudson, waved her good morning. Her Doctor had told her he loved her, and then run off not an hour later to some far-off corner of the universe. She strode the corridors, more from memory than awareness. before arriving at the elevator to the subterranean complex.

The Board- those at Torchwood's helm- had called a meeting, relayed simply by memo. Rose Tyler had grown accustomed to clandestine meetings, but this was unexpected. The meeting place was a small storage room, waiting to be renovated to meet government standards for holding hazardous materials. She was the last to arrive.

A blue police box dominated the room. The windows had shattered, and the paint was darkened by soot. "She's broken," said an unfamiliar voice. Rose looked into the pale eyes of a stranger, framed with long, unruly hair.

Rose was frozen, somewhere between realizing who the man was and accepting that fact. The Board's newest member, Levi Ackermann, stepped in for her. Levi, a skilled analyst, had already calculated a response. "Torchwood is willing to assist the Doctor in repairing the Tardis. We have ample resources, including a capsule of huon energy. However, we lack the expertise needed-you understand, we've never encountered this particular... problem."

"Oh, I understand well. Except for the Torchwood bit, and the part where she's staring at me," the man rambled, motioning to Rose.

Rose winced, surely the Doctor... he wouldn't... had he forgotten her? She bit her lip and held out her hand. "I'm Rose Tyler. I-We've traveled together before, don't you remember?"

Eight shook her hand firmly, in a desperate attempt to conceal the confusion written on his face, "Oh dear, I am sorry, time travel does get quite messy. perhaps I've met you before in your parallel universe, or maybe our meeting is yet to come. In my timeline, that is, seeing as you've already met me. Now I am curious: why do you look at me like I'm a talking chimpanzee?" The Doctor took a step toward Rose, bringing the tension in the silent room to its height. He whispered: "A talking chimpanzee that makes you sad, is it?" He spoke quietly, allowing only the blonde woman to hear his words.

Levi cleared his throat. Eight turned around to face him, looking slightly annoyed. Levi did not make eye contact, instead opting to look at Pete Tyler. "Not a word of this can leave this room; you all know the procedure." All present nodded in agreement, and the meeting was adjourned.

**Author's Note: Sorry it's so short, but the next chapter should be up much quicker than this one. Please R & R!**


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